Kings’ Anschutz Outspends NHL Owners in Midterm Donations

This is part of a Front Office Sports series about sports spending in the 2026 midterm elections.

With the midterm elections fast approaching, Silver Bulletin’s latest forecast gives Democrats a greater than 95% chance of taking back the chamber and dethroning House Speaker Mike Johnson.

But one NHL owner is leading the charge to keep Johnson (R., La.) in the speaker’s chair.

Los Angeles Kings owner Philip Anschutz donated a total of $509,100 to Johnson Leadership Fund, a joint fundraising committee led by Johnson that spends big on the Louisiana congressman’s campaign as well as the broader effort to elect House Republicans.

Those donations made Anschutz the single largest backer of Johnson Leadership Fund, and the highest-spending NHL owner this midterm election cycle by a wide margin.

Anschutz contributed more than $1.3 million to Republican causes over the last two years. His next-largest gifts after Johnson were three donations to committees that support Republican Senate candidates, amounting to just more than $500,000. 

NHL owners donated more than $2.8 million combined this cycle, with the three largest donors all supporting Republicans. Representatives for the four NHL owners who spent the most either did not respond to Front Office Sports’s request for comment or declined to comment. 

The NHL’s second-largest political donor was Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, who contributed more than $550,000, mostly to Republicans. The majority of that was a $350,000 gift to the Republican National Committee. 

Devils owner Josh Harris was the third-highest spender. He gave $250,000 to SLF PAC, which supports Senate Republicans, and $5,000 to the NFL’s Gridiron PAC.

Harris’s partner and Devils co-owner David Blitzer gave more than $140,000, mostly to Democrats. He donated $12,500 to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which was split up into two gifts to Rep. Wesley Bell (D., Mo.) and Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D., Fla.). Bell and Moskowitz faced difficult primaries dominated by debate over Israel and fended off challengers who leaned further to the left. 

Blitzer crossed party lines for battleground Senate races, contributing to Democrat Roy Cooper in North Carolina and Republican Susan Collins in Maine. Flyers owner Dan Hilferty and Kraken owner Samantha Holloway each also supported Cooper’s Senate campaign.

Predators owner Bill Haslam, the Republican governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019, gave around $160,000 to GOP causes. His largest donation was $75,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis contributed $122,000, mostly to Democratic causes. A sizable majority of that was a $105,000 donation to Monumental Sports PAC, which largely supports Democrats. 

Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, meanwhile, appeared less invested in partisan causes than in supporting incumbent congressional leadership. Three of his six donations this cycle were to Speaker Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.), and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.). 

Wild owner Craig Leipold donated $10,000 to Minnesota’s Democratic party, but also $5,000 to Minnesota Republican Senate nominee and former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya. 

This series was reported and produced by Amanda Christovich, Margaret Fleming, Eli Kronenberg, Katie Krzaczek, and Dennis Young.